Red Letter Day
by RisemboolRanger
Summary: Like most superheroes, Sidney's powers have always set her apart from everyone else. Desperate to find a place she can belong, she fights a long battle to get into the Justice League and the world of heroes. But what she doesn't realise is that the struggle only gets harder from there. Flash/OC


"Aww come on, don't be such a stick in the mud!"

"For the last time, I said _no_!"

Of course that didn't bother me. I'd been snubbed seven times already. One more certainly wasn't going to have any effect. People have told me I have selective hearing… I reckon I just hear the stuff that's worth hearing. But apparently that's 'the same thing'.

I danced after the man in the black cape – the superhero who was currently trying to avoid me, since I'd cornered him after he'd assisted the police with a store robbery. As usual it didn't deter me. I'd chase him for as long as I could. I'd been doing it every time I'd managed to find one of the members of the infamous Justice League.

Unfortunately, I seemed to keep finding the miserable ones. They were a little harder to work with…

"I can be of use to you, y'know," I insisted as I chased after him. I was determined not to let him out of my sights – he was very good at disappearing off the radar if you so much as blinked. "Just give me a chance."

"Do you have a hearing impairment? I already told you no," he said irritably.

"Well I have actually been told that I talk too loud," I admitted. "Apparently I'm not 'aware of my own volume'."

Batman just sighed and continued to stride around the corner. I had to practically jog to keep up. Though I wasn't too bothered about the seven rejections so far I still didn't really want to let the figure reach double figures. I was determined to at least make _some_ progress.

People stared as I skipped past. I caught sight of us in the reflection of one of the big store windows. It did look a picture - the stoic man in black attempting to escape the girl with the tiny, bouncing red ponytail.

"You do know I'm going to keep doing this until you say yes, don't you?" I shouted brightly after him.

"Then you're going to be doing it for a very long time," came the annoyed reply.

"Hey Bats! If a girl's going through the trouble of chasing you then you could at least give her the time of day."

I looked round to see a guy in red stood leaning against a post on the sidewalk, looking highly amused. Now this was someone I hadn't tried reasoning with yet… Though unfortunately the superhero known collectively as Green Lantern was stood beside him. I'd spoken to _him_ multiple times before and he was about as uncooperative as Batman was.

He was clearly thinking along the same lines when he spotted me. "You again!"

"Hey, I told you I'd be back," I reminded him with a grin.

"I was hoping it was an empty threat," Green Lantern grumbled.

"Hang on, how come you and Bats know this girl and I don't?" protested the guy in red.

"I'm Sidney Crichton," I announced helpfully.

Green Lantern ignored me. "It's better if you don't," he told his comrade. "We've been trying to…"

He didn't get to finish. The other guy had suddenly sidestepped around him with inhuman speed and come to stand in front of me. He held his hand out with a smile. "I'm Flash."

I smiled back. "I know," I said, making to shake his hand.

Flash looked impressed. "You do?"

Green Lantern knocked his hand out of the way. "Don't get cocky – she's not interested in _you_. She knows about all of us. She wants to 'join' the Justice League."

"So?" said Flash, giving me an obvious look up and down. "She's cute. I say let her join."

I felt a little smug and tried not to grin like an idiot. Well at least it looked like _someone_ was prepared to vouch for me - who cared what the reason was? But of course there was always somebody else who had to rain on my parade…

"That is _not_ an acceptable reason to take on an amateur," Green Lantern pointed out frostily.

"You know, you take the fun out of everything," complained Flash.

"And I'm _not_ an amateur!" I added huffily. "I've gone up against loads of criminals on my own! Ask Batman – I was just reminding him about the time that…" I looked around as I was talking, but couldn't see Batman anywhere.

"Err sorry, but Bats disappeared already," said Flash helpfully.

"Aww, dammit..." Not _again_! But at least I still had two other members of the Justice League in my sights. Batman had been proving to be a lost cause so far – maybe I'd have better luck working my magic on these guys instead…

"Sorry kid, but it's just not happening," said Green Lantern adamantly. "You think you're the first person who's asked to join us?"

"But don't you at least wanna see what I can do?" I asked, almost desperately. I didn't like that he was lumping me in with all the other wannabes… I _was_ different to everyone else. It was just that nobody wanted to give me a chance to prove it.

"Sure, colour me intrigued," said Flash.

But before I could even get excited that _someone_ finally seemed interested, Green Lantern grabbed his arm and cut in, "_No thanks_. Come on, Flash. Let's go."

"Sorry, Little Red," Flash apologised over his shoulder, as Green Lantern pointedly steered him away. "Maybe another time."

Dammit! I cursed to myself, feeling a strong urge to kick something. _Strike eight_. I may have been used to getting shot down, but that didn't make it any less frustrating every time. All I wanted was to help do good... But instead I just seemed to make a nuisance of myself. What did I have to do to catch a break around here?

Feeling defeated yet again - trust me, it was starting to get old - I turned on my heel and reluctantly started back in the direction I'd come from. I caught sight of my reflection in the window again as I passed the big electronics store. Needless to say I didn't have quite the same bounce in my step this time.

I headed back to the bar with my usual report. It was quite empty at this time of day, though Newton Freeman was sat at the far end of the bar like usual. He looked round when he heard the door open and beckoned me over. "Any luck?"

"Nope. I struck out again," I lamented miserably.

"You blew _another_ interview?" asked Bobby, the bartender, with raised eyebrows. "What d'ya do this time?"

"I just guess no one likes my approach."

Newton closed his laptop and folded it under his arm as he slid down from his stool. "Come on. Let's go talk out the back."

I followed him out through the side door. Not many people knew it but the run-down bar backed onto a small garage. You could say that it didn't get a lot of business... Not _legally_ anyway. But it was Newton's pride and joy and where he spent most of his time. It happened to be one of my primary hangouts too, second only to the bar itself.

"So who'd you get this time?" asked Newton, once he'd sat down at the only desk and set his laptop back up.

I leant against the bonnet of what was left of half an old Celica. "Well I guess you could say it was a bit of a hat trick this time... A failed one."

"Be more specific."

Newton was the only one who knew what I'd _really_ been trying to do for the last few months. He was my most valuable ally - he combined as a trustworthy friend, my mechanic and the best source of intel I knew. It wasn't that I didn't trust my other friends... I just wanted to keep my intentions as low-key as possible.

In case you hadn't already guessed, I'd been fighting tooth and nail (sometimes literally) to prove my worth so that I could join the renowned Justice League. You could say that I hadn't really put my skills to the best use in the past, so now I wanted to make up for that. Call it my own form of atonement.

But obviously it wasn't that easy. You couldn't just produce a résumé or take a training course in order to join up with a team of superheroes. You needed a way to really prove that you'd be a valuable asset to them... Which definitely wasn't easy when said grumps weren't even willing to give you a chance.

I'd been taking whatever opportunity I could to build up my street cred rather than a résumé. I'd become quite well-known around the area. With my own mine of local information (i.e. Newton) I was able to track down criminals in action and try to take them out myself.

Now I know what you're probably thinking... I was just a tiny rookie girl who couldn't do squat against the bad boys. But think again. I'd done my own kind of personal training over the years and I'd taken down quite a few crooks all by myself. I guess you could say that the street cred actually _was_ my résumé. It was at least proof that I _could_ do something to assist in the greater good.

Not to mention with Newton's intel skills on my side, having the necessary info to catch criminals in the act also meant that on occasion I bumped into members of the Justice League, who would also be trying to apprehend said criminals. Accidentally on purpose of course. But as of yet, I still hadn't been able to let them see _me_ in action. Hence the eight strike-outs.

"Well I started off following after Batman," I recounted. "Then he disappeared just as Green Lantern and the Flash showed up."

"Ah..." was all Newton said. He knew as well as I did that Green Lantern wasn't the best person for me to try and find my way around. I'd pestered him on three other occasions so far - they'd all worked out just about as smoothly as it had today.

"Exactly."

"What about the Flash? No luck with him either?"

"Well he seemed more interested than the others..." I said thoughtfully. "But Green Lantern dragged him off like a kid in a toy shop before I could show off any of my skills."

Newton sighed. "Maybe you need to try this whole thing from another angle..."

"Like what exactly? I don't really have that many angles to work."

"Like anything! What you've been doing so far clearly doesn't seem to be working," said Newton.

"But it's not really like there's a multitude of ways to follow someone and get them to listen to you," I pointed out.

"When you say _follow_ you don't mean you physically stalk them, do you?" asked Newton suspiciously.

Uh oh. Something told me the truthful answer probably wasn't going to be the right one. "Welllll..."

"Oh god..." Newton rolled his eyes. "Just _please_ tell me you don't actually go round chasing them and shouting things at them..."

I hesitated. Again I didn't think he'd be happy with the truth. "Welllll..."

"_Sid_!"

"What?!" I protested. "How else am I meant to get their attention?"

Newton just shook his head. "No wonder you've been striking out so much... You're not exactly subtle, are you?"

"In case you haven't noticed subtle isn't one of my strong suits," I reminded him.

Newton sighed. "You're telling me. Why did I sign up to be your coach for this again?"

"Because you're super sweet and super smart and clearly the best guy for the job?" I suggested teasingly.

It was such a blatant attempt to sweet talk him, but he still seemed mollified by it. "Well seeing as you're right on all of the above I guess I shouldn't throw in the towel just yet. And since you were so nice and so obviously _not_ false about it, I suppose I might as well give you what I've been working on..."

"I get a present?" I asked eagerly.

"It's more of an upgrade than a present, so I wouldn't get too excited." He pulled something out of the drawer underneath his desk and handed it to me. "There you go. Fresh from the shop. Or garage, more like."

It was a gymnast's baton. Well... I knew it wasn't a _real_ one. It was just fashioned to look that way. Gymnastics was the root to my athletic skill set - I'd practiced ever since I was a tot. It certainly came in handy for climbing and even for fighting, so I'd wanted to incorporate it further. Sticking with the same theme, I'd decided to get hold of a gymnast's baton to use as a makeshift weapon.

Unfortunately, they're not really that durable. Or useful. I mean, they're basically just a plastic stick when you look at it... I wanted something stronger and at least a little more hi-tech, in case of the possibility of going up against criminals with knives or even guns.

So Newton had promised to make me something a bit more gadgety - that I could actually use without worrying about the embarrassment of it snapping in my hand. And extra kudos to him since he'd still stuck to my original idea of the gymnast theme.

This particular baton was quite short - half red and half orange in colour with black caps on either end. It was light, but felt much sturdier than a normal baton. "It feels very solid... What's it made of?"

"Carbon fibre."

I smiled. "I should have guessed." What else would a mechanic go for if he wanted something light in weight but heavy in strength? I spun the baton round with one hand. It had a weird sort of tipping balance to it.

"It's weighted at each end," explained Newton, watching as I tested the feel of it. "Should give it better movement when you're swinging it around."

"Sounds fun!" I said appreciatively, trying it out. It did have a pretty good swing.

"It's extendable too," Newton added. "You'll feel more of the weights' effects at its full length."

"Really?" I said interestedly, looking it over and inspecting it up close. "How do I extend it?"

"You'll find thumb inserts in the caps of each end," Newton described. "Push them simultaneously and the baton will extend. And hopefully that way you shouldn't ever extend it by accident."

I really didn't give him enough credit. He thought everything through way better than I ever would... I pressed my thumbs into the inserts of the caps like Newton had said and each end of the baton suddenly extended about another eight inches in one swift movement, making a seriously cool _whoosh_ sound.

"Awesome," I grinned, impressed. "Very superhero-like."

"Well that's the dream, isn't it?"

I smiled again, though this time it felt more bittersweet. "Supposedly... If I ever get given a chance."

"You'll get your moment, Sidney," Newton reassured me. "Just try not to worry about it too much."

That was a lot easier said than done. But I sure hoped that he was right...

XXX

Nothing particularly exciting happened over the next several days. Great. Just great... How was I supposed to get my chance if none of the bad guys were even going to get out of bed? I hadn't even had the opportunity to use my new weapon yet!

I found myself spending all of my time out and about, patrolling streets and alleyways. Anything to keep myself busy. Otherwise I was going to go crazy doing nothing but waiting for reports from any of my friends - hoping that someone would tell me that something interesting was finally going down somewhere.

Newton wasn't actually my only source of info - most of my other friends were too. They were all part of the same web. They shared their connections with me, seeing as I'd once been a part of it too, and were always happy to swap information. I guess the technical word for the group was 'gang', but it wasn't much of a gang anymore. Not since a huge street brawl had thrown a good half of them into prison cells - or worse, the hospital.

I cut across the street and headed down one of the side alleys. This really wasn't one of the nicest parts of the city, but there was a rather large convenience store around here which did a particular kind of sport drink that I just couldn't seem to find anywhere else. My sugar intake was one thing I could definitely go to great lengths for.

The shopkeeper was a bit of a misery guts, but he recognised me now and at least gave me a nod when I entered. Progress. I headed straight down to the back of the store, where the refrigerators kept the drinks nice and cool for me. Well, they did the same thing for everyone else too... but right now I was the only one here.

I grabbed a couple of the cold bottles and started back up towards the front. I was tempted to try and juggle with them, but somehow I didn't think the shopkeeper would be giving me anymore nods if I made a mess of energy drink in one of the aisles. And knowing me, that was probably a likely outcome.

As I reached the last aisles at the front of the store I heard a gruff voice order, "Look, just give me the money and you don't have anything to worry about."

What the...? I stopped dead in my tracks and quietly dropped the bottles onto the nearest shelf. I peeked through one of the gaps between the stock, trying to see the cash register counter. The shopkeeper was facing a man in a black bomber jacket. Was he being mugged? The man had his back to me so I couldn't tell for sure...

"Are you stupid or what?" he said to the shopkeeper. "I'm giving you an easy way out here." He moved slightly and I saw a flash of silver. Ah hell, he had a knife... This could get ugly if I didn't do something quick.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, willing my ability into action. I felt the power crawl across my skin. When I raised my hands in front of my face they were no longer there - they were invisible, as was the rest of me. Perfect.

Oh, did I forget to mention that part of my skill set? This was the ace up my sleeve. The part of me that set me apart - that had _always_ set me apart - from everyone else. The part that I wanted to put to better use. The part that I was hoping would help me to get what I wanted...

But right now I just wanted it to help me save this shopkeeper.

I crept round the aisle and snuck towards the man with the knife, as quietly as I could possibly manage. He was saying something else but I didn't listen. I couldn't listen. I had to concentrate completely on what I was doing. Concentration was the only thing that kept my power intact. If I broke that then I'd be just as visible as the next person.

Which was another reason why I had to act fast. The moment I was close enough I leapt at the guy and grabbed the hand that was holding the knife. He may have been a lot bigger than me but my sneak attack gave me the advantage, surprising him enough for me to wrench the knife out of his grip.

The effort made my concentration slip and from the shock on the shopkeeper's face I'd clearly become visible again. I could throw a few punches and kicks and still retain my cover, but physically grappling with someone made it a lot harder to concentrate. Yeah, I was still working on that.

But no matter. Superpowers weren't all that uncommon around here nowadays, so I wasn't too worried about people seeing what I could do. And now _I_ was the one with the knife.

"Finders keepers," I told the guy, keeping the knife held up but out of his direct reach.

"Well looky here; a new little superfreak," said the guy, unnerved that I'd just appeared out of nowhere.

"Sticks and stones," I said dismissively, though I wasn't too hot on the 'little' remark. Talk about patronising. "Now then, what are we gonna do with you..."

I hesitated, realising that I actually had no idea on that one... I'd saved the shopkeeper and now I was the one who was armed. But what was I supposed to do with the bad guy now that it was over? I wasn't a cop - I couldn't just arrest him. And I wasn't sure I really had the means to restrain him in any way. Maybe the store stocked something we could use... Twenty packs of Red Vines maybe?

Thankfully I was saved from having to solve my quandary when the store door suddenly burst open as the Flash raced in. He skidded to an abrupt halt, which shouldn't have been possible with the speed he'd been travelling at. He looked just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

My surprise was quickly replaced by excitement though. This was it... This was exactly what I'd been waiting for! A member of the Justice League was standing _right there_. And I'd just apprehended a store robber all by myself - I still had him right in front of me! The amount of times I'd tried telling them about past criminals I'd helped to stop wasn't quite the same as them getting to see it for themselves first-hand. Especially when they'd never been interested in listening in the first place.

My mood was deflated just slightly though when the Green Lantern came through the door next. He'd probably make things a little more difficult for me, as usual. "I thought I told you not to run on ahead," he scolded Flash.

Flash ignored him. "Err, that girl from the other day beat us to it anyway."

"What?" Green Lantern then spotted me, standing between the shopkeeper and the mugger. "Oh great, you _again_?"

"Well if it isn't the fast and the furious," I said casually.

"Funny," said Green Lantern dryly, though at least Flash laughed at my genius quip. "Now how did you get here before we did?"

"Hey, I _told_ you I could help," I pointed out evasively. Probably better to avoid the fact that I'd just very luckily happened to be in the right place at the right time. "But don't let me hog all the fun - I'll let you take it from here."

I nudged the mugger towards them. He went willingly, hands raised. He clearly wasn't stupid enough to put up a fight against two well-known superheroes. Green Lantern took the guy by the arm, raising his eyebrows at me. "And you really apprehended this guy all by yourself?"

"Of course I did!" Was he seriously going to doubt me when the evidence was right there? "Look, he had this knife! I was saving the shopkeeper!" I turned eagerly towards the man still behind the cash register. "Right?"

"Err, yeah, she did," agreed the shopkeeper. He seemed even warier around these heroes than the mugger did. I guessed some people just didn't do well with celebrities. "She came at that guy out of nowhere and grabbed the knife out of his hand... Literally out of nowhere."

Green Lantern seemed to catch the double meaning. "Literally, huh?"

"Well I've been trying to show you what I can do for ages now!" I pointed out. "Look, just watch..."

"Later," Green Lantern interrupted me, holding up his free hand. "Let's deal with _this_ guy first and then we'll talk."

"_Really_?"

I could barely believe my ears. He was finally going to hear me out! It wasn't anywhere close to an agreement yet, but at least he was actually going to listen to me now. I was finally getting my chance...

But unfortunately things were never that easy. Before Green Lantern even had the chance to reply the door of the store burst open yet again and this time a whole group of guys charged in, wielding knives and crowbars. They clearly weren't rushing in on the scene they'd expected though.

"What the hell's the Justice League doing here?!"

"Who cares? We'll take them out too - if we don't get that money we're dead!"

The one who had just spoken then swung his crowbar at Flash, who was nearest. But of course he had no chance. Flash darted easily out of the way with his inhuman speed, stopping again directly behind his attacker.

"Come on, you've gotta give me more credit than that," he said, before punching the guy in the face.

I couldn't just stand and watch the others - I had to make use of myself and help out as much as I could. Using my power, I turned invisible again. Either nobody else seemed to have noticed that I'd just vanished before everyone's eyes or they simply didn't care. Maybe they didn't think I'd be much of a threat... Well if so, that was bad judgement on their part.

I briskly surveyed the scene and made a few quick decisions. I'd never gone up against this many people before, with or without help. But I had an advantage that nobody else did - I could take people out without being seen. I quickly thrust the knife I was still holding through the waistband of my jeans. I didn't want to use it unless I had to, but I'd have been stupid to just put it down.

Green Lantern smacked the original mugger to the floor as he simultaneously tried to fight off three other guys. I jumped into the fray and drop-kicked one of them, taking his legs out from underneath him and sending him crashing to the ground. I then turned and kicked another straight in the crotch. He crumpled instantly. I knew it was a low blow (_literally_) but hey, it was the easiest way to take a guy out of action.

The whole time I made sure I kept my concentration absolute. Singular moves only. No attempts at fancy sequences. No one-on-one wrestling. I had to keep my cover up.

I noticed then that two more guys were sparring with the shopkeeper, who they'd dragged out from behind the cash register. I had to get him out of here... I darted past everyone else and kicked one of the guys in the small of the back as hard as I could. He toppled forwards and away from the fight.

Damn, why was this the one day I _hadn't_ carried my new baton around with me? It would have really come in handy right about now. Though I hadn't really expected to need it when I'd only intended to go energy drink shopping...

In that case I'd have to improvise. I grabbed a chrome-handled umbrella off one of the random impulse-buy shelves by the register and swung it at the other guy's head, knocking him out of the way. It'd look like a floating umbrella had just attacked him by itself, but at least it had done the trick. And it had certainly caught the shopkeeper's attention.

I grabbed his arm, hoping he wouldn't freak over the fact that I was still invisible. "Come on," I hissed. "Duck down and I'll get you out of here."

He did as I said and allowed me to take the lead. I dragged him past the fighting as quickly as I could, heading straight for the door. I had to stop and knock a few people out of the way - they probably had no idea what had even hit them - but for the most part Flash and Green Lantern kept them all occupied. I was able to get the shopkeeper outside safely.

But no sooner had we got out and away from the door, he suddenly turned and elbowed me straight in the face. I reeled back in pain and surprise, staggering a few steps. Not only had he broken my focus and made me become visible again, he'd also knocked one of my contacts out. I couldn't see a damn thing without them - my one eye was now blurry and smarting from the impact.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I protested.

"Sorry, kid. Thanks for the help and everything but I'm outta here."

"But..." I couldn't make sense of this situation. "But you were the victim! They were trying to steal money from _you_! What are you running for?"

He just laughed. "Did you think I was just being mugged? Sorry sweetheart, but that first guy was just the messenger. They want the money back that I stole from their boss in the first place. I'm no victim."

So it hadn't been about the store after all... It was already some ongoing dispute. They were _all_ bad guys here. And I'd just helped one of them to escape. Twice. Son of a bitch...

"Then in that case you're not going anywhere!"

I grabbed the knife from my waistband, intending to use it as a scare tactic, but then froze as he pulled a gun out on me. I may have been effectively blind in one eye, but there was no doubt about what he was holding. It clicked as he cocked the hammer back.

"And I was actually going to leave without killing you," the guy tutted, aiming the gun at my head. "You only have yourself to blame for this."

Crap... This was really it. All my fighting to get to this point where I could finally show the Justice League what I was made of... And it had gotten me staring down the barrel of a gun. I guess maybe I deserved it. I'd done bad things in the past - that was why I was so desperate to do good instead.

But at least I'd go down still trying. I shut my eyes just as the man pulled the trigger.

**XXX**

**Author's Note!**

Yes, another story xD I really, REALLY couldn't resist this one. I first started watching Justice League when I was about thirteen/fourteen. Now ten years later I STILL love it! My tastes clearly don't change. Plus since I've been writing my Batman villain story, it's been a fun change to work with some typical heroes instead!

Just a note as well that this is based on the animated series ONLY. I feel the need to point this out, because I know what some superhero fans can be like for picking holes. I've never read a comic in my life, so if there's any plot holes in this regarding the comics then that's why!

This is also set before the Unlimited series (partly because I hadn't seen it when I first started writing this). Also that would take out all the fun of Sidney struggling to make her voice heard ;)

There may also be some mistakes. Because I've proof read and uploaded this rather swiftly before getting ready to go out |D


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